The Ballet Manila Archives is the repository of documents, print, photographic, audio and video materials and memorabilia relating to the history of Ballet Manila and the life and career of its founder, prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde. This site is powered by Ms. Elizalde and Project Art, Inc.

Feb 22 This Month in BM History: February 2005

Souvenir program of Ballet Manila’s groundbreaking double feature to close the company’s 10th performance season. From the Ballet Manila Archives collection

In February 2005, Ballet Manila set a challenge for itself that was unheard of in Philippine dance history – to dance two completely different full-length ballets on two consecutive weekends as the finale of its tenth season.

A news item shares the iconic ballet classics that BM principal dancers Lisa Macuja-Elizalde and Osias Barroso were bringing to life. From the Ballet Manila Archives collection

And so the company performed two ballet classics – Carmen on the first weekend and Giselle on the next. It was a sizzler of a double feature, with the themes of passion and forbidden romance firing up these two productions.

What made it even more of a must-watch was that they were headlined by Ballet Manila’s star couple – principal dancers Lisa Macuja-Elizalde and Osias Barroso who, by then, had already been performing as a pair for 17 years.

For the two, assuming the characters of Carmen and Don Jose in Carmen and Giselle and Albrecht in Giselle was like putting on second skin, having danced these roles many times before. The chemistry between them had indeed bonded them through many other iconic ballet pairings in their professional lives.

Performing as Carmen and Don Jose in Eric V. Cruz’s Carmen was like putting on second skin for lead performers Lisa Macuja-Elizalde and Osias Barroso. From the Ballet Manila Archives collection

The back-to-back productions were also special, as they were meant to be Barroso’s last performances as Ballet Manila’s principal danseur. When he successfully battled – and survived – vertigo and a mild stroke, the shows gained even more significance, fittingly celebrating the acclaimed “Ballerina’s Prince”.

In her notes as artistic director, Macuja-Elizalde paid tribute to her long-time partner, and also shared the company’s aims for the groundbreaking double feature of Carmen and Giselle: “With these two dramatically different and yet strangely united in death love stories, Ballet Manila hopes to bring the passion, romance and everlasting qualities of deep love and all its accompanying emotions to life.”

Ibong Adarna, the Filipino literary classic about a bird whose singing has healing powers, was transformed into a full-length ballet production that was Ballet Manila’s 22nd season-opener in August 2017.

The moon rose above the canopy and a dreamy mist swirled around our knees as we danced, fingers entwined and hearts in sync with the universe; just a prince and his princess, a boy and a girl, learning to love in a beautiful world.

Dancing the Blue Bird Variation from The Sleeping Beauty, 11-year-old Juan Angelo De Leon – representing The Lisa Macuja School of Ballet Manila – soared to a bronze finish in the Pre-Competitive B Division of the Asian Grand Prix International Ballet Competition in Hong Kong.